


Five times Harley and Peters’ friends tried to get them together (and one time they actually did)

by Skittles2006



Series: Domestic Avengers Fluff :D [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5+1 Things, Asexual Character, Bisexual Michelle Jones, Bisexual Peter Parker, Fluff, Gay Harley Keener, Idiots in Love, Lesbian Shuri (Marvel), M/M, Mutual Pining, Texting, asexual cassie lang, shuri is trying her best ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26847916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skittles2006/pseuds/Skittles2006
Summary: The title says it all!---This is part of a series, but reading the other works is not essential to understanding this story. The first work in the series is just an introduction to the world that this takes place in, and can be good background information.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Ned Leeds, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Shuri, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Lila Barton & Cassie Lang, Lila Barton & Harley Keener, Michelle Jones & Harley Keener, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Shuri, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Shuri, Peter Parker & Shuri, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers
Series: Domestic Avengers Fluff :D [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956052
Comments: 15
Kudos: 160





	1. Shuri

Peter and Shuri were friends. Shuri never doubted that. They had originally bonded over science and memes, but they quickly became close, spending a lot of time together in the labs. 

They told each other everything. 

Right?

Peter was talking about his day, which was normal for their time together in the lab. Shuri noticed that he was talking about a certain member of their joint friend group more than usual, which intrigued her. And every time he said that name, his face brightened and his smile widened, almost imperceptibly, but Shuri knew him well enough to notice it. 

“Peter?” she asked when he stopped to take a breath. He looked up at her. 

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Do you have a crush on anyone?” Peter’s whole face flushed. 

“Yeah,” he mumbled. 

“Who is it?” Shuri asked, pretending like she didn’t already know. 

“Harley…” Peter told her reluctancy, blushing harder. 

“No, really? Harley  _ Keener? _ ” 

“What, did you know?”

“Yeah, sort of. You’re kind of adorably obvious about it.” Shuri laughed, causing Peter to get even darker red (if that was even possible). He groaned and put his head in his hands. Shuri grinned and started teasing him, and after a few minutes Peter relented and started openly gushing about his crush. 

===

**Shuri:** Do you have a crush on anyone??

**Harley:** yes

**Shuri:** !!

**Shuri:** Who is it!!

**Harley:** rather not say

**Shuri:** I won’t tell anyone

**Shuri:** Pleeease

**Harley:** fine

**Harley:** its peter

**Shuri:** OMG

**Harley:** shut up

**Shuri:** :D

===

Armed with the fact that Peter and Harley liked each other, Shuri began planning. She wanted to ask MJ or Cassie for help, but she had promised Harley not to tell anyone and she was going to stick to that promise. 

It wasn’t until a month later that she put her plan into action. By then, she hoped that they wouldn’t immediately figure she was trying to set them up because they’d just told her. 

First, she cancelled on Peter for their normal lab time, saying she wasn’t feeling well. She told him that he could go anyway, and that she had told Harley to keep him company. Which she did. And he agreed to go. 

Next, she would wait until they were both in the lab. The doors were glass, but throughout the past month Shuri had been slowly darkening them so that it wouldn’t be too drastic of a change for them to no longer be translucent. After about half an hour, she would lock the door. Thankfully, the locks were really quiet, so neither of the boys would realize they had been locked in. 

She had also installed a microphone in the room, so she could listen to their conversation. She wouldn’t actively be listening to their whole conversation, of course, but she would notice if there was quiet and then softer speaking. At which point she would listen to make sure they were admitting their feelings for each other. Was this creepy? Maybe. And yes, it seriously cliché, but so what? Shuri didn’t really care, as long as these two idiots were happy together. 

The plan was going perfectly. Peter and Harley were locked in the lab together, laughing and talking. Shuri could practically see the heart-eyes that Peter was giving Harley, and knew that Harley was probably staring longingly at Peter every time he turned away. 

They got quiet, which sparked Shuri’s interest. She turned up the volume to hear what they said next. 

_ “Harles, do you like anyone?” _ Peter’s voice was nonchalant, but Shuri could tell he was feigning indifference. 

_ “Yeah,” _ Harley replied.  _ “What about you?” _

_ “Yeah.” _

That was it. That was it? They continued talking about science, the topic of crushes never coming back up. Shuri groaned in frustration, hitting her head down on the table. 

She was going to need a different plan. 


	2. Ned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this turned out WAY longer than I expected lol, sorry

Ned wasn’t perceptive. He was pretty oblivious to the world around him, and his friends teased him about it mercilessly.

He was, however, very in-tune to his best friend’s emotions. Whenever Peter was feeling sad, he hid it well under layers of excitement, but Ned could always tell. He would bring games and snacks over to Peter’s room and they would talk and feel emotions together. When Peter was angry, which was also kept hidden, Ned would get him alone to watch puppy videos together on a large screen until Peter was calmer or wanted to talk. 

But this?  
Ned had never seen this before. 

To anyone else, it would seem that Peter was the same as always—happy and carefree and excited for everything—but Ned could tell there was something else. It was definitely positive, and somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t place his finger on what it was. 

It wasn’t until mid October that he got a clue. 

MJ and Ned didn’t technically live at the Compound, but they had their own rooms and were there almost every night. They went to a private school—payed for by one Tony Stark—with Harley, Shuri, and Peter, and they usually drove together. (Lila, Cooper, and Cassie went to a different private school—one without the advanced STEM program the others were in.)

MJ usually drove, Shuri in the passenger’s seat, Peter and Harley in the middle, and Ned in the back. It wasn’t anything personal, it was just the order they were down and by the car. (Ned slept late, okay?) The car ride was usually quiet, everyone still half-asleep, but today the car was charged with an unfamiliar energy emanating from Peter. Ned was sure nobody else could sense it, and that Peter wasn’t even aware he was doing...whatever it was he was doing. Ned noticed that he kept looking over at Harley for a split second before turning away. 

Yeah, this was familiar. 

When they got to school, Peter stumbled out of the car, blushing when Harley laughed and jokingly congratulated him. Ned looked over at Shuri and MJ, the former of whom was watching the exchange with a slight frown. 

So _Shuri_ knew something was up, too. But she was much more observant than Ned, so she probably knew what it was. MJ too. 

Frustrated, Ned trailed after Peter to chemistry. 

In class, they were working on a project in pairs. Ned and Peter had finished it the week before, so they just worked on other homework and talked quietly. 

“Peter?” Ned asked. 

“Mhmm?”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Peter told him, looking up from his calc homework. “You can tell me anything, too, Ned. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ned sighed, continuing his work. A few minutes later, Peter tapped Ned’s shoulder. 

“I just realized I do have something to tell you,” he said, excitement poorly concealed on his face. 

“Yeah?”

“I have a crush on someone,” Peter whispered. Ned’s face lit up. 

“Who?”

“You can’t tell anyone,”

“Obviously. Who is it?”

“It’s Harley,”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Peter’s smiled into the space ahead of him. “I just like him a lot,”

“That’s great! I’m happy for you.” Ned told him, grinning.

“Thanks, Ned,” Peter smiled. 

So _that’s_ what it was! Peter liked Harley! And he was acting just like when he had a crush on MJ! That’s why it was familiar. Ned kicked himself for not realizing it either. 

At lunch, he pulled Shuri aside before they left campus. 

“What happened?” Shuri asked, worried. 

“Did you know that Peter likes Harley?”

“Yeah, why?”

“We need to get them together!”

“What if Harley doesn’t like Peter?”

“It’s Peter. Harley is super gay and his past boyfriends lasted two weeks at most and were all the exact opposite of Peter.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,”

“Listen, Harley and Peter definitely like each other. We need to get them together!”

“No, I’m not going to be part of whatever crazy plan you have. I’m going to go.” Ned watched her leave and sighed. When Shuri made up her mind, she wouldn’t change it. 

Ned was alone. 

===

The next day was Saturday, so all the teens in the Compound (including MJ and Ned, of course) stayed up late watching movies and playing games. Sometimes the adults would join, but today they were all tired and went to bed early. 

Ned, Peter, MJ, Shuri, Harley, Cassie, Lila, and Cooper piled onto one long couch, _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ playing on the big theater screen. They joked around and snickered throughout the movie, one person occasionally shushing the others. When the movie ended, the teens moved to the floor, sitting in a circle. 

“Let’s play spin the bottle!” Cooper suggested. Everyone looked around awkwardly—Shuri and Harley were gay, and Cassie was asexual, none of which were good when it came to a kissing game. 

“How about truth or dare?” Lila offered. The others nodded. 

“Okay, I’ll go first,” Cassie said. She looked around the circle, studying each person individually as she decided. “Ned. Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to reenact an entire John Mulaney bit, word for word.”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Ned laughed, standing up and beginning the horse-loose-in-the-hospital bit. He bounded across the room like John did, changing his voice and adding emphasis where it was needed. All his friends were dying from laughter by the time he finished, plopping down in his spot in the circle. He watched them smugly as they tried to recollect themselves. “My turn!” he said when they calmed down.

“Harley, truth or dare?” (Ned actively ignored the pointed glare that Shuri sent him.)

“Truth.”

“Do you like anyone in the compound?”

“I mean, yeah, everyone is pretty cool—”

“No, I mean like, do you have a _crush_ on anyone?”

“Oh! Yeah, I do,” His eyes darted over to Peter as he said it, but it was so fast that Ned almost thought he imagined it. 

Almost. 

“Oooh, who is it?” Lila asked. 

“I’m not going to say,” Harley responded, setting his mouth in a thin smile. “Cooper, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

The game continued, but Ned stopped paying attention. Harley definitely liked Peter. Now all that was left was for Ned to get them together. 

===

“Harley, wait up!” Ned shouted, running after the taller boy. 

“Hey, Ned, what’s up?”

“You have a soccer game tonight, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Would you mind if Peter and I came? It’ll be fun.”

“Sure! I’ll see you then.”

“Cool. We’ll get pizza or something after, if you aren’t going with the team?”

“Yeah, of course. Can you get a reservation?”

“Yeah.” They exchanged a smile and went their separate ways. 

That night, Peter and Ned dressed in the most green and yellow they owned, painting colors and the number _4_ onto their faces. Just as Peter got into the driver’s seat, Ned’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out, arranging his face into one that passed as disappointed. 

“I have to go home. Apparently today is a family night. Sorry, Peter.” he said. 

“Oh, it’s okay. Should I still go?”

“Yeah of course, I already told Harley that we’d be there. Tell him what happened for me, and I’ll text you the details of the pizza place I reserved.”

“Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Yep! Bye!” Ned watched as Peter drove away, praying that his plan would work.

**Ned:** How was the game?

 **Peter:** It was great!! Harley scored the winning goal!!

 **Ned:** Nicee

 **Ned:** Did you like the pizza place?

 **Peter:** I like him so much oh my god I thought I was gonna melt when he looked at me

 **Peter:** Ugh that’s so cliché but it’s TRUE

 **Peter:** Oh yeah it was okay, I ended up getting takeout

 **Ned:** What 

**Ned:** Why

 **Peter:** Harley ended up getting dinner with the team

 **Ned:** Oh

Well, then. That didn’t work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Reminder not to expect anything from me tomorrow, I'm gonna be super busy. See you Thursday! (hopefully)


	3. MJ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!! I kind of lost motivation for this chapter, and ngl, it's kind of similar to the past two. I'm running out of ideas lol.

People were surprised when MJ and Harley became friends. Yeah, they went to the same school and were in the same friend group, but they didn’t seem like they’d have much in common. But in their friend group, which was loud and could be somewhat suffocating, they immediately sought each other out as friends they wouldn’t have to talk to. They only shared personal information that they thought the other should know, which wasn’t a lot. 

Today, they were sitting in Harley’s room. Harley was doing homework while MJ sketched, soft country music playing in the background. 

“MJ?” Harley said, not looking up from his homework. 

“Yeah?”

“I like Peter.”

“What, like, you have a crush on him?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, cool.”

And that was that. They didn’t talk about it any more. They were content to sit in silence. 

Or at least, Harley was. 

MJ was very busy plotting. 

===

Peter was terrible at keeping secrets. It was funny, honestly. It wasn’t his fault—he was just naturally a super open person. 

It usually worked against him, though. Like, MJ knew that he liked Harley. He had for months. It wasn’t a secret. 

(Well. It probably was. But it wasn’t MJ’s fault if he practically had heart-eyes when he looked at Harley.)

But MJ couldn’t tell if Harley liked him back or not. Now that she knew he did, she had to get them together. 

It was called: Operation Parkner. 

===

**Step 1: Convince both Harley and Peter that they had to get over the other.**

That was going to be tricky. They were both head-over-heels for each other—that much was clear when Harley chose to tell MJ his crush.

Yeah, actually, step one was not going to work. 

\---

**Step 1: Start/find a “send this to your crush” trend and send it to Peter**

Peter loved the trends that involved sending things to specific people. Plus, if he sent something to Harley, they’d probably talk to each other for a while longer. Right?

MJ searched through social media; Tumblr, Reddit, and Instagram were all dead ends. Feeling defeated, MJ opened Pinterest. 

As if sent from the gods, MJ’s feed was full of people texting their crushes. It was weird, because MJ only used Pinterest for drawing inspiration, but right now MJ wasn’t complaining. 

It took her nearly an hour, but she finally found one. “Send your crush a picture of you that you’ve never showed to anyone else.” She sent it to Peter, who immediately replied with a question mark. 

**Peter:** ??

**MJ:** i thought u would like it

**Peter:** I mean

**Peter:** Sure??

**MJ:** are u doing it

**Peter:** Yeah sure gimme a sec

**Peter:** Okay yeah I sent my crush a pic

**Peter:** That sounds so dirty omg

**MJ:** lol its ok

\---

**Step 2: Get Peter and Harley to spend a full day together**

Okay, this would be harder. MJ knew that Peter and Harley had talked for at least an hour after she texted Peter, so she figured they’d easily fill up the silence if they were alone. 

First, she was going to convince Shuri and Ned to come to school with her earlier than usual. Shuri would be fine with that—they both woke up early, so there were multiple occasions when they didn’t wait for the boys and just went to school alone together. Ned, on the other hand, was always the last to wake up and come downstairs. 

Maybe MJ should just wait for a day when Ned was going to school from his actual house. 

===

Luckily for MJ, that night Ned had to go to his house. In the morning, MJ convinced Shuri that they should go to school ahead, especially considering the fact that Peter and Harley wouldn’t be downstairs for another half hour. 

During classes, they obviously couldn’t get Harley and Peter alone together, but at lunchtime, MJ whisked Shuri and Ned into the cafeteria. They usually went off-campus, but if they stayed in the cafeteria they would miss the timeframe to leave. After school, MJ practically shoved her friends into the car so that Peter and Harley would get the forty-five minute drive back to the compound alone. 

She probably should have explained what she was doing, but neither of Shuri nor Ned asked any questions, which led her to believe that they suspected or knew something. 

When they got to the Compound, MJ, Shuri, and Ned ran up to Shuri’s room. Cassie, Lila, and Nate were already back, but they usually spent the day in the living room doing homework, so MJ wasn’t worried about them. 

“Okay, so—” MJ started. 

“Peter and Harley will be back in twenty minutes. If we can avoid them for the rest of the day, they might finally admit their feelings to each other,” Shuri said. She was frowning, like she didn’t realize she was talking out loud. 

“Wait, you guys know they like each other too?” Ned burst out, eyes wide. 

“What? Yes, of course. I have known for nearly two months, why do you ask?” Shuri asked. 

“God, haven’t you two tried anything to get them together?” MJ nearly yelled. 

“Yeah, obviously, but it didn’t work,” Ned replied. 

MJ groaned and hit her head with the palm of her hand. “Fine, okay, all three of us know. Now all we have to do is get them to stay alone together. 

“I tried that. It did not work.” Shuri mumbled. 

“Well, we can try again. Nobody is allowed to interact with Peter or Harley for the rest of the day,” 

===

They spent the rest of the day avoiding Peter and Harley. The next morning, MJ texted Peter. 

**MJ:** how was yesterday

**Peter:** ?? It was fine

**Peter:** I didn’t get to see everyone that much

**MJ:** what did u do

**Peter:** Oh I just went to my room and did hw mostly

**MJ:** what abt harley

**Peter:** What about him

**MJ:** didnt u spend time with him

**Peter:** No he went to his room 

**MJ:** oh

===

Damnit. Maybe MJ  _ should _ collaborate with the others. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a comment or kudos!! If you have any ideas for the next two chapters, or another work for this series, feel free to leave them or DM me on tumblr, @skittles-fangirl-15. Have a great day and thanks for sticking with me so far!!


	4. Cassie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright y'all, I'm SO SORRY about the wait!! I doubt y'all are like,, eagerly waiting or anything but I feel bad. Everything just got ahead of me and I lost motivation, so this is a little shorter and not as good as the other chapters. Hope you enjoy, though!

Cassie narrowed her eyes at Peter. He wasn’t looking at her—he was staring at Harley with the BIGGEST puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen. He was clearly in love with Harley, but Harley wasn’t even looking in Peter’s direction. He was talking to Ned about their math homework. Or something. They didn’t go to the same school. 

Throughout the night, Cassie watched Harley. When the eight of them played Truth or Dare, Ned asked Harley if he liked anyone; he said yes, but didn’t say who. Cassie thought she saw his eyes flicker over to Peter, just for a second, but she couldn’t be sure. 

Later, the eight of them were hanging out in the sitting room, playing video games and eating pizza. Peter was in an intense “science off” with Shuri, which was where they each had a minute to create the most useful item out of an assortment of lab scraps in ten minutes. The usefulness of an invention was decided on by the judge, who was MJ right now. 

Cassie watched the game, mostly studying Harley, who was also watching. He seemed to be looking at Peter and Shuri an equal amount, but Cassie could tell he was mostly focused on Peter. 

She decided they liked each other. 

Now she just had to get them to know that. 

===

As Cassie dragged herself to chemistry, she tried to think of a plan for getting them together. Obviously, she wouldn’t be able to do anything while they were at school, like put “secret admirer” notes in each of their lockers. Although...

Cassie stopped in her tracks. Why couldn’t she? She could leave them each notes, but in their individual backpacks, so that they wouldn’t see them until they got to school! 

“Ms. Lang, don’t you have someplace to be?” a voice called, shaking Cassie out of her thought. She blushed and looked up to see one of the librarians glaring at her. 

“Sorry.” she mumbled, clutching her bag tighter and rushing off to chem. 

===

That night, Cassie scribbled out a handful of secret admirer notes, editing them and rewriting them, before deciding on a pair. 

For Peter:

“I like your outfit today ;) 

\- Your Secret Admirer” 

For Harley:

“ur really very awesome i like u a lot :)

\- P”

Yes, Cassie knew that they were simple, but she figured they each captured one of their personalities, enough that they’d be hopeful that it was from the other but not certain about it. 

In the morning, she woke up early to sneak the notes into the boys’ bags. She shoved them into the pockets, so that they wouldn’t see them as soon as they opened their bags. Hopefully, they would see them during the day at some point, and wonder when their admirers had a chance to put them in their bags. 

Well, there was nothing else she could do about it now. Cassie sneaked back to her room, eager for the end of the day to come. 

===

“So, how was your day?” Cassie was sitting on one of the longer couches, her legs straight in front of her, when Peter, Harley, MJ, Shuri, and Ned walked into the sitting room. They finished school about an hour after she did, so they got home later. 

“It was pretty good, what about you?” Shuri said, curling up on the egg chair. 

“Not bad, we covered polynomials for the millionth time in algebra today.” Lila complained, making the others laugh. Cassie looked over at Peter and Harley, neither of whom had shown any signs of excitement towards a secret admirer. Cassie frowned. 

“Peter, anything exciting happen today?” she asked. He looked up and grinned. 

“No, not really. Why?” 

“Just curious. Harley? What about you?”

“Nah, it was a pretty normal day for me, too.”

“Oh. Okay.” MJ walked over from the “kitchen” area, handing Shuri a mug of hot chocolate. 

“What, you’re not going to ask us?” she joked. 

“Anything exciting happen for  _ you _ MJ?” Shuri added, batting her eyelashes playfully. 

“In fact, it did! Today I got a 110% on my English test!” MJ responded. 

“Hey, good job!” Cooper said. 

“Thanks.” 

They all exchanged banter and jokes, but Cassie kept looking over at Peter and Harley. They both seemed completely normal! It was driving her insane. 

She would just have to try again. 

\---

Over the next two weeks, Cassie left a new love note in each of Peter and Harley’s bags every day, always in a different spot. And every day, neither of them acknowledged the notes. But Cassie knew they had seen them; when she checked the spot she’d left the note in the previous day, there was nothing there. 

Maybe she should just give up. 

Or just try a different plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'll try to be a bit more consistent, but I'm having some trouble with balancing this and school and athletics. I do enjoy writing this, though, and I hope you guys are enjoying reading it!


	5. Lila

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAHHHHHH sorry haha. I wanted to write this so bad but I got distracted and busy and then I forgot for a while but when I remembered I felt so bad about not updating that I ignored it BUT it's here now and I hope you like it!!!

Cassie was acting odd. Of course, she was always acting odd, but more so today than usual. That was part of the reason Lila liked her so much. But she was staring at Peter a lot, and she kept asking him and Harley weird, overly specific questions. 

Today, Cooper was leaving school early for a soccer game, so the drive back was just Cassie and Lila. Lila was driving, Cassie staring out the window, deep in thought. At the next light, Lila slammed the brakes hard enough to bring Cassie back to earth. 

“What happened?” she asked, eyes wide in panic. 

“What’s going on with you? You’re so quiet all the time, and you’ve never shown this much interest in Harley and Peter before. I just want to know what changed. Are you switching to their school?” Lila blurted out, terrified that her best friend was actually transferring. 

“What? No! I just…”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you think Peter and Harley would be a cute couple?” That surprised Lila. She blinked a few times, thinking, before answering. 

“I’ve never...thought about it? I guess? Why?”

“I’ve been trying to get them together.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I should just give up.”

“I mean, do they want to be together?”

“I don’t know. I think they like each other.”   
“I see.” Lila hesitated before she started driving again, not saying anything else on the subject for the rest of the drive. 

_ Well, that made more sense _ , Lila thought, relieved. But if Cassie was right, and Peter and Harley liked each other, Lila would definitely be playing matchmaker. First, though, she’d have to see if they did. 

\---

When she and Cassie got home, they went straight to Lila’s room to hang out like they always did. Cassie spread out on the sofa, while Lila curled up on a beanbag. They each worked on their respective homework without speaking. 

Lila tried to focus on her math homework, but the only thing she could think about was whether or not Harley on Peter liked each other. She could ask them, she supposed, but they probably wouldn’t be too eager to tell her—they weren’t really that close. She forced herself to solve the problems in front of her, and when she finally finished, she and Cassie went down to the sitting room, where the others would soon join them. 

Cassie made coffee for the two of them as the others finally came in. Lila watched Peter and Harley; they were walking close together, but with enough distance between them that they didn’t look like a couple. Every once in a while, one of them would steal a quick glance at the other. 

Yeah. They liked each other. 

For the next three days, Lila tried to find an appropriate time to ask Peter or Harley about the other. She knew Harley was gay, and that Peter was bi. A plan started formulating in Lila’s head. 

\---

“Hey Harley, can I ask you something real quick?” Lila whispered to Harley, taking him by the arm and leading him to the side of the room. 

“What’s up?” he asked, once Lila determined that they were far away enough from the others. Lila took a deep breath. 

“I have a crush on Peter and I need your help asking him out.” she lied, mentally cursing herself as her words came out too fast. Harley’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“You want  _ my _ help? For asking out  _ Peter Parker _ ?”

“Yes.” Lila nodded, blinking rapidly. 

“I...um, I don’t know what to tell you other than the fact that I won’t be of much help.”

“Oh, nonsense. Nobody knows Peter like you do.”

“Ned? MJ? Shuri? Literally anybody else, Lila. Why me?”

“I think you could help me the best.” she stated with a shrug. Harley made direct eye contact with Lila, not blinking once. Lila stared back just as hard, refusing to back down. Finally, after what had to have been at least two minutes, Harley sighed, relenting. 

“Fine. I’ll help you.” Lila grinned and clapped her hands together, bouncing on her toes a little. Yes, it was out of character for her, but she needed to pretend she really liked Peter if she ever wanted Harley to help her. 

“Thank you!” she said, giving Harley a hug, but letting go and skipping away before he could even register what was happening. 

She went over to Cassie, who still seemed disappointed that her plan hadn’t worked. 

“Hey, I want to tell you something,” she whispered, leading Cassie to a semi-secluded area of the sitting room. Cassie blushed, fidgeting as Lila leaned against the wall. 

“What’s up?”

“I was thinking about what you said, about Peter and Harley, and I wanted to see if you were right,” Lila started. “So I’m going to try and get them together. I’m pretending to have a crush on Peter, and I asked Harley to help me, so they’re both gonna be so uncomfortable that they end up bonding or something. I haven't’ thought that far ahead but they’re gonna start dating.” Cassie was silent for a minute. 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? It might just drive them further apart.” she finally said. 

“Nah, it’ll be fine. What could go wrong?”

\---

“Are you sure daisies are his favorite flower?” Lila asked, rearranging a bouquet of them in her hands for the millionth time. 

“Yes, I’m 100% sure. You look fine. Everything will be okay, Lila.” Harley reassured her, rolling his eyes as he watched the corner for Peter. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I got this,” she breathed, fanning her face with her hands. It had only taken about a week, so, Lila was worried that it wouldn’t go according to plan. 

The plan, as far as Harley was concerned, was that Lila would wait for Peter to come around so she could start playing music—some romantic playlist she found on Spotify—and give him the flowers. While the music lowered, she would ask him out. He would say yes, they’d go out, get married and have kids or whatever, blah blah blah et cetera et cetera. 

The  _ actual _ plan wasn’t too far off. When Peter rounded the corner, Lila would start the music and give Peter the flowers. She would ask him out, and he would hopefully reject her, to which Lila would try her best to act heartbroken while Peter would tell her he likes someone else. And Harley would be listening, so if Peter said that he liked Harley specifically, he would hear it. And something would happen, Lila didn’t know. Yeah, there were a lot of variables and “what-if’s,” but Lila felt that it would work out. 

She was jolted back into reality when Harley tapped her shoulder. “He’s coming! Are you ready?” he whispered. She nodded and started the music. “Love Story” by Taylor Swift came on as Lila walked up to Peter, who seemed very surprised as he looked around for the source of the music. He finally saw Lila, and gave her a slightly confused smile when he noticed the flowers. 

“What’s going on?” he asked. 

“Peter Parker, will you go out with me?” Lila blurted out, shoving the flowers into his hands. Peter’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open an inch. 

“What?” he finally asked, eyes darting between Lila and the flowers. 

“Will you go out with me?” Lila repeated, slightly slower now that she wasn’t as nervous and flustered. 

“Oh, um…I’m so sorry, but I don’t really like you like that, Lila. Sorry. We can still be friends though, right?” 

“Yeah that’s fine. Who do you like, then?” Lila said eagerly, forgetting to act sad and causing Peter to raise one eyebrow slightly. 

“Um, I’d rather not say. Thanks for the flowers, though. See you later, I guess.” He walked away quickly, before Lila could press for more information. She was left staring after him, only one thought going through her brain. 

She was gonna need a different plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof remember when I was like "I'm gonna try for one chapter per day" lol. ANYWAY I finally got my act together so I hope you enjoyed!! One more chapter and I'm already working on the next one-shot for this series. Please leave kudos and comments they make my day!!


	6. +1 time they did

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place early December, when it's cold-ish but not quite winter. The recreational room is the same place as the sitting room I'm just indecisive and ended up using both.   
> Also, Caf-gay is not a real place. I wish it was, it's low-key like 90% of my daydreams. But I think there will be some more stories in this series that take place there.   
> ANYWAY,,, I hope you enjoy!!

MJ, Shuri, Ned, Cassie, and Lila were a strange group of friends. They usually didn’t hang out together, unless Peter and Harley were with them. And Cooper, sometimes, but he usually played video games with other boys closer to his age instead of hanging out with the older teens. 

Anyway, it was would have been weird that Peter and Harley weren’t with them, but nobody seemed to notice or care. Peter and Harley had some superhero stuff with the adults in the compound, so everyone knew that they wouldn’t feel left out. The five of them stumbled into Caf-gay, a small coffee shop-type space for queer teens and young adults. They spent a lot of time there, so all the baristas recognized them and brought over their regular orders as they settled into their usual beanbags. 

They talked for a while, doing homework and joking around. Today was a slow day for the cafe, and eventually they just ended up working in a comfortable silence. Every time the door opened, all of their eyes shot up. After nearly an hour, a young gay couple walked in, hands linked. They ordered drinks and sat together, talking, and one would occasionally lean over the table to kiss the other. 

“Damn, that could be Peter and Harley.” Lila sighed, watching the couple leave. Shuri looked at her weirdly. 

“Wait, you know they like each other?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I’ve known for a while now. Cassie and I both tried to get them together but, obviously, it didn’t work.” Lila explained. “Did you guys all know, too?”

“Yeah, the three of us all tried to get them alone together in various ways, but none of that worked.” Ned told her. 

“Wait, so all five of us knew Peter and Harley like each other, all five of us tried to get them together, and  _ none of us _ succeeded?” Cassie blurt out. The others exchanged embarrassed glances. 

“Yeah, it seems that way.” MJ told her. There was a brief silence before everyone burst out laughing. 

“God, why didn’t we just talk to each other!” Ned got out between laughs.

“Why don’t we work together now?” Shuri suggested once they all calmed down. 

“That could work. Any ideas?” 

Homework long forgotten, MJ opened a google doc to write down ideas as the five of them brainstormed. Finally, after nearly two hours, they came up with a plan. 

\---

Peter wiped the sweat off his forehead, breathing hard. He was training with Steve in the gym at the compound. They were a good match, with enhanced abilities and similar fighting styles. Soon he’d switch to work with Bucky, but right now Harley was working with him. Harley was shirtless, which Peter appreciated as he took a water break. Steve stood next to him, following his gaze. 

“How long have you and Harley been together?” he asked casually, watching his boyfriend. 

“What?” Peter spluttered. “We aren’t dating.” Across the room, Bucky said something to Harley, who looked up and smiled at Peter. Luckily, Peter’s face was already flushed from the workout, so Steve couldn’t see the blush that crept up his neck. 

“Could’ve fooled me. He likes you, Peter. Everyone can see it.” Steve shrugged. “C’mon. We still have twenty minutes left.” 

\---

After training with Bucky and Steve—and then Natasha, because she showed up—Peter and Harley trudged up to their wing of the compound. They had no shortage of topics to talk about, and they ended up in Peter’s room, sitting on the floor.

“I’m going to shower, but you can feel free to stay here if you want.” Peter eventually said, standing up. He took his shirt off and rummaged through his dresser for a different outfit. 

“Okay.” Harley responded, watching the other boy. Peter could feel his eyes, but he didn’t meet them. Instead, he went into the bathroom and closed the door. 

When he came out 15 minutes later, Harley was flipping through one of Peter’s books. They switched places, and when Harley finished showering the two of them went down to the rec room, where they expected their friends to be hanging out. 

Surprisingly, nobody else was there. Peter shrugged, settling down on the couch and turning on Netflix. He scrolled through the movies, deciding on “Let it Snow” just as Harley joined him with a big bowl of popcorn and two mugs of hot chocolate. 

“Ah, ‘tis the season indeed.” he said, seeing the movie choice. It was early December, but fall seemed intent on staying. They huddled together as the movie played, laughing and groaning throughout. Just near the end, their friends came in, but neither of them acknowledged the others. The credits rolled, and Peter turned off the TV so he could pay attention to his friends. 

“How was training?” Shuri asked, noticing Peter walking over. Nobody had joined them on the couch, choosing instead to gather in the kitchen area and talk quietly. 

“It was okay. Nothing really happened.” Harley told her. 

“When’s the next time you guys are planning on training?” MJ asked suddenly. 

“Probably either Saturday or Monday. Why?”

“Just curious. Does anyone want to play Twister?” 

\---

“Faster, Parker! Come on, you’re almost there!” Steve shouted. Peter grunted and lowered his head, picking up the pace as he finished the 5k. It was the first time he’d ever run more than a mile, and he loved it. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy the run, because Steve was just interested in getting him to finish in under 25 minutes. Which he did. 

“Good job, Parker. Take a break and then run two laps recovery. That’s it for today.” Steve said, patting Peter on the shoulder. He smiled before retreating into the compound. Peter shivered in the cold air as he started out for his recovery laps. 

Walking into the gym, Peter saw Harley gathering his things and went to meet him. 

“Hey,” he said. Harley looked up. 

“Hey. How was it?” 

“Not bad, honestly. What about you?” 

“It was okay. I think Bucky forgets that I wasn’t injected with a super-soldier serum like he was.” Peter laughed as they left the training area together. 

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Ned said there’s a meteor shower tonight, and we were planning on going up and watching it. Do you want to come with us? The girls have their own thing planned, or I’d invite them too.” Peter asked suddenly. 

“Oh, sure. Sounds fun.”

“Cool.”

Peter fiddled with the strings on his hoodie as he waited for Ned and Harley to join him in the rec room. 

“Hey, Peter,” a familiar voice said. Peter glanced up and saw Harley walk in, hands in his back pockets. Peter blushed involuntarily as he returned the greeting. Just as Harley reached him, his phone buzzed with a text. 

**Ned:** Hey sorry but I can’t make it

**Ned:** You guys can go ahead tho

**Peter:** It’s fine 

**Peter:** Are you sure?

**Ned:** Yeah go ahead

**Peter:** Okay 

“Ned can’t come with us,” Peter said, turning off his phone. 

“Oh, okay. Should we go up, then?”

“I guess so.” The two of them made their way to the roof. 

When they stepped out, both of their eyes widened in surprise. The strong lights in the walls were turned off, replaced by fairy lights strung around the edges, emanating a soft light. The moon wasn’t full, but it still provided a lot of light. In the middle of the roof was a small table set for two, and on one wall was a short sofa for two people to sit together. 

“Peter?” Harley asked, recovering first. 

“Hm?” Peter responded, still staring around. Harley didn’t say anything else, instead walking over to one side of the roof overlooking the woods. Peter followed him, eyes still darting from one thing to another. The two of them stood together, leaning against the wall as they looked out at the sky above the trees. 

Neither of them said anything for a while, just enjoying the quiet and each other’s company. 

“I love you, Peter.” Harley finally said, breaking the silence. Peter’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “I have for a while now, I guess. And I didn’t think you felt the same, but…yeah. I love you.” Peter didn’t say anything for a while. 

“I love you, too. In a way, I guess I always have. But it feels good to tell you that, Harley.” he responded eventually. 

“Boyfriends?” Harley whispered. 

“Boyfriends.” Peter agreed.

Neither of them said anything else as Harley slipped his hand into Peter’s, who nestled his head onto the taller boy’s shoulder. They stood together like that for a while, both perfectly content to stay in the moment forever. 

\---

The next day, Sunday, Peter and Harley told everyone they were dating. Their reactions ranged from pretending to be completely indifferent to acting overly shocked and surprised. 

Peter and Harley never told their friends that they knew about every plan they made up. 

Some things were meant to be secrets, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!! And yes, Peter and Harley TOTALLY knew about all the crazy plans their friends came up with, but they always assumed that their feelings weren't reciprocated which is why they never talked to each other about them. Shoutout to Harley for making the first step on the roof lmao.   
> This story has been a lot of fun to write, and I'm so grateful to each and every one of you for reading and supporting it, and for putting up with my sketchy posting schedule lol. Your comments have meant the world to me; they make my day every time, and they all inspire me to keep writing when I feel like giving up completely. So, if you've left any comments, thank you. But if you haven't, that's perfectly okay. Just the fact that you haven't given up on this story makes me so happy. (ugh that sounds like i'm baiting for them or something. that's not the case i swear lmao)  
> Happy Thanksgiving!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'll try posting over the next couple days, one chapter per day is my goal (I have time during class haha) Except Wednesday, definitely don't expect anything from me on Wednesday. Unless I get a lot of homework, I should be writing regularly!


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